Zhao Li, director of the Chengdu Huaxi Entomological Museum, recently discovered a group of fireflies spread over hundreds of meters in Qingcheng Mountain on autumn nights. At an altitude of about 1100 meters, he first encountered such a swarm of fireflies, which is the genus of fireflies of the genus Yellow-edged Short-angled Window Fireflies. (Photo/ Zhao Li)
According to records, this species of firefly is a new species that was only discovered in 2001, and has not been recorded in other provinces and regions except Shandong and Taiwan. This discovery is the first in Sichuan.
Yellow-rimmed short-angled window fireflies mainly appear from October to January of the following year, and the adult antennae are all serrated. Males have intact wings and females have no wings. The male has two segments of the luminous apparatus, and the female has four dots.
At about 7 p.m. on the 21st, Zhao Li, director of the Chengdu Huaxi Insect Museum, encountered a group of special spirits on his way from LaojunYoushan in Qingcheng Mountain, passing through the tianshi cave section. Having seen countless insects, he was still stunned by the scene in front of him - a large number of fireflies were scattered on the road for hundreds of meters. Wearing a headlamp, he quickly turned off the lighting and stood still at the scene. Soon, the elf who had just "extinguished" the light lit up again.
The dorsal plate of the male's forebreast is beige, and the wing sheath is black, but the wings are originally distinctly yellow-sided. Females are beige in color, but have inconspicuous pink markings in the first two segments. The habitat is mainly around the jungle on both sides of the mountain road.
Since the beginning of August, chengdu has experienced significantly more rain than in previous years. In the past month, it has been raining continuously, which has given the snail a good living environment, and then the firefly larvae that feed on it have a great increase in survival rate because of their abundant food.